Customer Service

Creating something beyond the pool of acceptable substitutes

This is the second part of the interview with Sean Doyle. We brought a couple of points back for context. We hope you take his points to heart regarding hiring a CMO, and the terminology used by Sales and Marketing - do they match?
4 Questions a CEO should know before hiring a CMO: You wouldn't hire your nephew out of high school to run your sales team, why do you do it to run  your marketing team and campaigns? 
"Here's another simple litmus test to sales and marketing have a common language, but what does sales call somebody who's at the point of action, they need a proposal. They want to know what it would look like to buy your product or service. What does marketing call that person? Just ask them those questions. If they don't even call a prospect the same thing, you don't have marketing alignment. If they don't understand what marketing alignment is at all, tell them, just Google it and start the journey. 

When Corporate Arrogance Bulldozes Marketing’s Good Judgement

Listen on iTunes while hanging upside down!
A little bit of success, can breed arrogance and poor judgment in many fast growing

Bill Walker of Unison Reveals How to Implement Voice of the Customer Programs

Listen while play basketball on iTunes
Voice of the Customer sounds wonderful, and doable, and gee whiz why not do it? And yet, as many have found, implementation takes more than wanting and writing a check.  In this program we talk about VOC with Bill Walker, Chief Revenue Officer at Unison.  Walker has successfully implemented a VOC process for collecting and implementing direct customer feedback. He believes that this is the most important thing you can do as a corporation and that it is more productive than leveraging outside agencies, focus groups, or executive voices. The host in Jim Obermayer.

How to Optimize Customer Experiences for 4-10X Revenue

The rallying cries up and down the halls of marketing today is, “How do we address customer experiences?”

Reputation Management: It‘s more than reviews on Yelp.

Join Susan Finch as she interviews  Director of Marketing and Joe Ibanez, Director of Sales for Reputation Impression. They will be discussing: ~ What is reputation management? ~ How do we control or respond to negative reviews? ~ How can we prevent negative reviews - or at least cut them WAY back? ~ Who is most likely to review your business and sully your reputation? ~ Who can help you BUILD it up?This is geared toward service industries including auto, home services, hospitality, medical, legal and wellness. Many business owners think that simply responding to reviews you receive on Yelp! is enough. It goes way beyond that. There are several venues that collect reviews, plus atypical places. *ASK YOUR QUESTIONS* in the event stream in case you can't make it. Please reply YES or MAYBE so you stay current on this discussion and don't miss the live event!*About our guests:*Brigitte Rubidoux is the Director of Marketing at Reputation Impression, creating & managing all aspects of the company's digital brand. After attending the University of California Santa Cruz, she returned to San Diego to pursue a career in marketing. Brigitte is one of the early employees of the company and with her get it done attitude, has moved up from executive assistant to the Director of Marketing. She is always looking forward, trying to stay up to date with best practices and new ideas related to Internet Marketing.As the Director of Sales for Reputation Impression, Joe has been able to utilize his Sales Training and his Personal Coaching skills learned while under the employment of Anthony Robbins and SBC Communications (now AT&T) to help Reputation Impression improve its Sales and Skill sets of employees under his direct supervision. Joe's skills are mainly focused towards Customer Service and satisfaction while having a proven track record in the sales arena as well.This will be a live event on YouTube LIVE, Wednesday, September 10 9am Pacific.

Twitter for Customer Service Discussed and Explained

Susan Finch came across an article by Rachel Sprung about the effectiveness of using Twitter for customer service engagement. She approached Rachel about discussing the positives, negatives and to identify which businesses are best served using Twitter for customer service and which most likely need more detailed and complex interfaces since most of what they will ask will far exceed 140 characters.They talked about how sometimes it takes a combo. Twitter for the public response, and then requesting either DM (direct message) or phone,email info for a more detailed solution for customers.Tune in for steps to take to begin your transition to Twitter for customer service, listening to this expert on events, engagement and effective communication.----------------------------About Rachel SprungRachel Sprung is a Marketing Associate, Brand Experiences in the Marketing department at HubSpot. Her responsibilities include managing HubSpot's presence at external events including Dreamforce. Previously, Rachel managed all of the logistics for HubSpot's annual conference INBOUND 2012, formerly known as the HubSpot User Group Summit (HUGS). As part of the Brand & Buzz team, she also works on creating a distinct brand for HubSpot and writing for the inbound marketing blog. In the past, Rachel has worked on the HubSpot speaker program and media relations.Before HubSpot, Rachel was a student at Boston University with a dual degree in public relations and business administration.  While at BU, she planned events on campus and around Boston including the nationwide TweetDrive, BU's PRAdvanced conferences and the annual MegaTweetUp.  As a member of the Public Relations Student Society of America's National Committee, she oversaw 11 regional conferences throughout the country.In her free time, she enjoys photography, running and learning more about mobile technology.  You can find her blogging at Rachel Sprung On Marketing or on Twitter as @RSprung.Rachel Sprungwww.rachelsprung.com

Women in Business: Leaping into untested waters pays off.

Susan Finch interviews Margo Crummack and Sandy Huseby of Crummack Huseby Property Management. These two were brought together from different angles of the property management industry. As the management plan changed at their company, they decided to venture on their own and start it their way. They have matching values, methods and it has proven to be a successful recipe.

Some of the highlights include:

What makes it unique working for them as women business owners?


"I think being a woman is unique in that we really do try to foster a sense of community within our company. We strive to make our employees feel that we not only care about the job they are doing here but, but that we care about them as people. We truly do believe that their success is our success. They go hand in hand so that is a strong focus in our business. Mistakes are always going to be made, not only by our staff but by ourselves as well. We accept that humanity in each other (between Sandy and me), and we extend that to our team members. We understand that how people feel about their job and our commitment to them makes all the difference. We think that is unique to a woman’s perspective about relationships."

What makes your approach unique in this industry?


"Empathy and focus on interpersonal relationships that we bring to the table. In any business, the people are the challenge. In the homeowner’s association industry, it can be very emotional because you are dealing with people about where they live, what they can and cannot do, why, etc., it requires a strong sense of diplomacy, patience and the ability to see, accept and work with many other points of view. That’s the business side of the “what” of what we do. Once we can get a true “team” developed, it is endless the possibilities of how we can help our customers have success. We strive for relationships built on trust first and then it is followed up by and exceptional team that is well educated and diverse so we can build programs to suit just about any community’s needs or challenges. "

About Crummack Huseby:

Crummack Huseby is a recognized leader in the association management services industry. Company principals Margo Crummack, PCAM, CCAM, and Sandra L. Huseby, PCAM, CCAM, have combined their two decades of experience to assemble a team of professionals that bring a new level of passion and excellence to property management. Combining sound practices with responsive service, board members and homeowners can count on daily operations that are both efficient and customized to meet their unique needs.

About Margo Crummack, PCAM, CCAM, Co-founder, Co-principal and CEO
A 24 year veteran in the community association management industry, Margo Crummack’s objective in 1999 was to find a better approach to balancing homeowners’ needs and the requirements of community association management. Applying her property management industry knowledge to build an operation from the ground floor, she fulfilled her goal. Ms. Crummack has been selective in her approach to building the company, choosing employees, including property management consultants with excellent communication and people skills coupled with a high-level of insight into the property management field. Prior to co-founding Crummack Huseby, she was Vice President of New Project Development for Keystone Pacific Property Management, Inc. A primary area of expertise is working with homebuilders through build-out and transition of new communities to homeowner governance.
About Sandra Huseby, PCAM, CCAM, Co-founder, Co-principal and COO
Sandra Huseby serves as Chief Operating Officer for Crummack Huseby Property Management, Inc. In her executive capacities with the company, Ms. Huseby oversees the operations of the property management organization. Ms. Huseby's goal when launching Crummack Huseby was to develop and implement strategic business plans leading to their substantial growth, streamlined systems and efficiencies.

She currently holds the designation of Certified Community Association Manager (CCAM) and the National designation of Professional Community Association Manager (PCAM). Sandra is currently on the Board of Directors for the California Association of Community Managers (CACM) for twelve years, and is currently serving another term through 2014. She is also licensed as a Broker by the California Department of Real Estate.